Air-Assisted Agitation For Tanks Of Application Equipment

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to an applicator having an agricultural product mechanical conveying system which transfers particulate material from one or more source containers to application equipment on demand, and meters the material at the application equipment. The conveying system includes a pneumatic agitation system operably connected to the tanks of the applicator to agitate the particulate material disposed within the tanks in order to reduce the formation of agglomerations and/or bridges of particles within the tanks. The pneumatic agitation system includes a number of nozzle connected to each tank that are in turn connected to a pressurized air source and a controller. The controller is operable to selectively cause pressurized air to flow into the tanks through the nozzles to agitate the particulate material positioned therein, thereby breaking up and agglomerations of material within the tanks.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates generally to agricultural equipment, and,more particularly, to an agricultural product delivery system on anapplication implement, such as a planter or fertilizer applicationequipment, for applying particulate material such as seed, fertilizer,herbicide or insecticide in a field, either as a surface application ordeposited in the soil to improve soil quality.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Agricultural product delivery systems are known to utilize variousmechanisms, including mechanical and pneumatic systems, i.e., a flow ofair, to assist in the delivery and movement of particulate material orproduct such as fertilizer, seed, insecticide or herbicide from aproduct supply chamber through an interior passage provided by a seriesof elongate tubes which extend from the product supply chamber to aproduct applicator that places the product on or in growing medium, suchas soil. Such agricultural product delivery systems are commonlyemployed in planters, air drills, fertilizer and pesticide applicatorsand a variety of other agricultural implements.

Agricultural implements that employ an agricultural product deliverysystem are known to have a particulate material supply source such asone or more tanks that are loaded with the particulate material ormaterials to be applied. The tanks have or are associated with ametering device, which typically consists of a rotating element, whichmeters the particulate materials from the tanks into a set ofdistribution channels, such as conduits, hoses, etc., for application tothe farm field. In most systems, a pneumatic source such as a fan orblower provides air to convey and distribute material through thedistribution channels. Once the metering of particulates is done and themix of air and particulates is in the distribution channels, the solidconcentration should remain nearly constant and in dilute phase.

Systems as described have provided certain advantages and have workedacceptably in some aspects, but are not without disadvantages,inefficiencies or inconveniences. For example, it often occurs in thematerial supply source, such as a tank, that the material to bedistributed via the system becomes agglomerated within the tank, such asby forming bridges across the tank, that prevent the material from beingdistributed.

In order to alleviate the problems associated with the agglomeration ofthe material within the tank, many types of mechanical agitators havebeen developed. These agitator are positioned within the tank and can beoperated to agitate the material and break up any agglomeration orbridges of the material that have formed within the tank. However, asthe placement of the mechanical agitators within the tank limits theirability to agitate material that is not immediately adjacent theagitator, in certain situations all agglomerations and bridges cannot bebroken up effectively, or to distribute material that has an unevenhorizontal profile due to previous sectional control.

Further, when the material within the tank drops below a certain level,it is often difficult to move the remaining material within the tankinto a position where the material can exit the tank, which requiresthat the tank be manually cleaned and/or emptied at the end of a run.The mechanical agitators are unable to assist with this task as theremaining material rest outside of the operational volume that can beaffected by the agitators, and may hinder the process by obstructingareas where the remaining material is positioned within the tank.

What is needed in the art is an agricultural product including anagitation system for the tanks of the application that addresses theseissues to improve efficiency and convenience of the applicator withoutfurther complicating its construction, such as the mechanical drives ofand associated physical interference of prior art rotary agitators.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an applicatorincludes an agricultural product conveying system which transfersparticulate material from one or more source containers to applicationequipment on demand, and meters the material at the applicationequipment. The pneumatic or mechanical conveying system employslongitudinal tubes or conduits that operate pneumatically with apressurized air flow and/or mechanically with mechanical devices to moveand mix the particulate material from one of the source containers ortanks along the conveying system. In the conveying system, the differenttypes of particulate materials are blended, such as within a rotarydistributor, and delivered to the distribution nozzles for dischargefrom the applicator. The conveying system has a simplified constructionand operation in comparison to prior art systems.

The conveying system includes a pneumatic agitation system operablyconnected to the tanks of the applicator to agitate the particulatematerial disposed within the tanks in order to reduce the formation ofagglomerations and/or bridges of particles within the tanks or todistribute the material during sectional control. The pneumaticagitation system includes a number of nozzles connected to each tankthat are in turn connected to a pressurized air source and a controller.The controller is operable to selectively cause pressurized air to flowinto the tanks through the nozzles to agitate the particulate materialpositioned therein, thereby breaking up any agglomerations of materialwithin the tanks. The positioning of the nozzles enables the air flowsfrom the nozzles to reach all internal areas of the tank in order toaccess material across the entire interior of the tank. Due to theconfiguration of the nozzles, the pneumatic agitation system can beoperated at the end of a run in order to effectively clean out theparticulate material remaining within the tank after the run has beencompleted.

According to another aspect of the invention, an agricultural productdelivery system includes at least one particulate material supplycompartment, at least one particle delivery unit for applyingparticulate material from the supply compartment, a conveying systemproviding a flow of particulate material from the at least oneparticulate material supply compartment to the at least one particledelivery unit and a pneumatic agitation system operably connected to theat least one compartment.

According to another aspect of the invention, pneumatic agitation systemfor use with an agricultural product delivery system, the pneumaticagitation system includes a compressor, a number of nozzles adapted tobe engaged with at least one particulate material supply compartment ofthe agricultural product delivery system and operably connected to thecompressor and a controller operably connected to the compressor and thenumber of nozzles.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a method ofagitating a particulate material within at least one compartmentcontaining the particulate material for applying the particulatematerial in a field includes providing a pneumatic agitation systemoperably connected to the at least one compartment, the pneumaticagitation system including a compressor and a number of nozzles disposedon the at least one compartment and operably connected to the compressorand operating the pneumatic agitation system to agitate the particulatematerial within the at least one compartment.

Numerous additional objects, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will be made apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken together with the drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the best mode of practicing the presentdisclosure.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an agricultural application implement, inthe nature of a fertilizer spreader, having a conveying system accordingto one exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the fertilizer spreader shown in FIG.1

FIG. 3 is bottom plan view of the conveying system according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a conveying system on a fertilizerspreader according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially broken away, isometric view of the individual tankcompartments and pneumatic agitation system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the compartments and pneumatic agitationsystem of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is side elevation view of the compartments and pneumaticagitation system of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of one compartment and pneumaticagitation system of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is flowchart illustrating one exemplary embodiment of the methodof operation of the pneumatic agitation system of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-3, thereis shown an agricultural application implement 10, on which a pneumaticconveying system 100 can be used. In the exemplary embodiment shown,application implement 10 is a granular fertilizer applicator 10. As isknown in the art, applicator 10 generally includes a large tiredtransport unit 12 such as truck or tractor, and laterally extendingparticle delivery booms 14 and 16, which may be pivoted to a stowedposition close to the implement for storage or transport. Each boom 14,16 includes a plurality of boom tubes or conduits terminating at theoutboard end in a particle delivering unit, which for fertilizerapplicator 10 are a spreading outlet or nozzle. In the exemplaryembodiment shown, boom 14 includes ten nozzles 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26,28, 29, 30 and 32; and boom 16 includes ten nozzles 34, 35, 36, 38, 40,42, 44, 45, 46 and 48. Additionally, at the back of applicator 10 thereare five rear nozzles 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58 to provide full and completecoverage across the width of implement 10, including the area betweenthe inboard-most nozzles 32 and 34 of booms 14, 16. Implement transportunit 12 is self-propelled by an engine in an engine compartment 59 andincludes an operator cab 60. In the exemplary embodiment shown, anuncovered tank 62 includes compartments 64 and 70 for carryingparticulate material to be distributed to and disbursed by nozzles18-58. Further smaller compartments 66, 68 can be provided to supplymicro-nutrients or other materials to nozzles 18-58. The supply ofparticulate in compartments 64, 66, 68, 70 is replenished periodicallyfrom a still larger volume supply vehicle (not shown).

Fertilizer applicator 10 is illustrative of the types of equipment forwhich the conveying system 100 can be used; however, it should beunderstood that the conveying system 100 may, of course, be employed inconjunction with other agricultural equipment such as tillage, seedingor planting devices, and is useful in distributing particulate materialother than fertilizer.

Looking now at FIGS. 1-3, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment thecompartments 64-70 of the tank 62 are each disposed directly above theconveying system or assembly 100, which is a pneumatic conveying system100. The system 100 includes five large diameter supply lines 102 thatextend from a plenum 104 at one end, under the compartments 64-70 andterminate at the booms 14, 16 or at the rear nozzles 50-58. At the booms14, 16, the supply lines 102 and the particulate material or producttransported therein can be split by a suitable distribution structure ormechanism 107, such as a horizontal rotary distributor(s) 108, among orinto a number of secondary or smaller supply lines 106 that areconnected to the nozzles 18-58.

To collect and drive the particulate material along the lines 102, inthe illustrated embodiment one or more fans 110 are operably connectedto the plenum 104 opposite the lines 102. The air flow from the fans 110is directed from the fans 110 through the plenum 104 and into therespective lines 102 as a result of the structure of the plenum 104.After the air flow passes through the one or more plenums 104 connectedto the one or more fans 110 and collects entrains the particulatematerial from the compartments 64-70 in a manner to be described, theair flow continues to flow along each of the four (4) large diameterlines 102 that make approximately a 90° turn to connect to the booms 14,16.

In order to spread the particulate material/product over/onto the centersection over which the machine 10 passes, a large line 102 must moveproduct to the rear nozzles 50-58 where there is no interference by themachine 10 on the spread pattern. To accomplish this a line 102 carryingonly air is added on the side of the machine 10 and has a forwardsection 105 that extends from the plenum 104 to the front of the machine10. At the front of the machine 10, one line 102 turns 180° and has arearward section 109 that passes beneath the compartments 64-70 wherethe line 102 collects the particulate material/product and transportsthe product to the nozzles 50-58 at the rear of the machine 10.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, it is contemplated that theconveying system 100 can be formed with one or more mechanical conveyors(not shown) take the form of one or more augers (not shown) that aredisposed within the lines 102 and encircle the auger(s) along theirlength. The augers are each operably connected to a motor (not shown)that causes the augers to rotate within the respective lines 102, movingthe particulate material in conjunction with the air flow through thelines 102. The operation of the motor can be controlled to control thespeed of rotation of the augers, either collectively or independentlyfrom one another, such that the speed of the conveying system 100 can bevaried as desired but not to meter the product(s).

Looking now at FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, in the illustrated exemplary embodimentthe plenums 104 provide airflow from the fans 110 to all five lines 102of the system 100, with one plenum 104 connected to the two (2) outsidelines 102, with the other plenum 104 supplying the air flow to thecenter three (3) lines 102. The lines 102 are split in this fashionbecause of the higher pressure drop associated with the outermost lines102 as a result of their length. With only the two higher pressure linessupplied by one plenum 104, it allows the fan 110 connected to thelonger lines 102 to supply a higher pressure airflow through these lines102 since less airflow is required for two lines 102 vs three lines 102.In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the two fans 110 and associatedplenums 104 are stacked vertically with respect to one another. Howevera different configuration can be utilized where the fans 110 and plenums104 are arranged in the same horizontal plane in order to minimize thespace requirements, with the plenums 104 also optionally being rotated90° from the illustrated configuration.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment theparticulate material/product contained within each of the compartments64-70 of the tank 62 is introduced into the airflow in the various lines102 via a product metering system 111, that is formed of a number ofmetering devices 112 that function to meter the product flowing from thecompartments 64-70 into each line 102.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the metering devices112 forming the metering system 111 are disposed in sets 114 locateddirectly beneath each compartment 64-70 of the tank 62, with each set114 of metering devices 112 associated with one compartment 64-70 of thetank 62. The metering devices 112 in each set 114 are connected inalignment with the compartments 64-70 and the lines 102 to enable theparticulate material to be dispensed from the metering devices 112 intothe lines 102. The number of metering devices 112 forming each set 114corresponds to the number of lines 102 in the conveying system 100, suchthat the particulate material from each compartment can be dispensedinto each line 102 utilizing the same set 114 of metering devices 112.

In addition, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, whilethe width of the metering devices 112 in each set 114 is the same inorder to correspond to the size of the lines 102, the length of themetering devices 112 in each set 114 is dependent of the size of thecompartment 64-70 associated with the set 114, and/or tank and the typeof particulate material held within that compartment 64-70. For example,the larger compartment 70 of the tank 62 can contain urea that will bemetered at a higher rate per acre, thus requiring longer meteringdevices 112 in the set 114 associated with the compartment 70 to avoidexcessive operational speeds for the metering devices 112. In contrast,smaller compartments 64,66,68 are configured to retain micro-nutrientstherein, such as zinc, for example, which are normally spread at a lowerrate per acre have smaller metering device 112 in the sets associatedwith these compartments 64, 66, 68. The positioning of compartments64-70 of different sizes within the tank 62 is selected to avoidphysical interference between the operating parts of the meteringdevices 112.

Looking now at FIGS. 5-8, the applicator 10 includes a pneumaticagitator system 116 that is connected to the compartments 64-70. Theagitator system 116 includes a number of air nozzles 118 affixed withinapertures 120 disposed at various locations on each of the compartments64-70, such as at angled and and/or horizontal orientations to thecompartments 64-70, or combinations thereof. The air nozzles 118 areeach connected via hoses 122 to a pressurized air source 124, such as anair accumulator 126 connected to a compressor 127 or other pressurizedair/gas flow generator, such as the fans 110, that is connected to theair accumulator 126. Each air nozzle 118 includes an outlet 128 securedwithin the aperture 120 in order to direct the air flow into thecompartment 64-70 to which the air nozzle 118 is attached. The outlet128 extends outwardly from a housing 130 in which is disposed a valve132, such as a solenoid valve 134. The valve 134 includes a connector138 that can be operably connected, such as via a wired connection (notshown) to a controller 140 that in one exemplary embodiment is locatedwithin the operator cab 60 of the applicator 10. The housing 130 alsoinclude an inlet 142 located generally opposite the outlet 128 that isconnected to a hose 122 to supply an air flow to the air nozzle 118. Thehose 122 can additionally have a manual inlet valve 144 located directlyon the hose 122 to manually control the operation of the air nozzle 118.

The air nozzles 118 can be positioned on various surfaces of thecompartments 64-70 in order to maximize the agitation provided by thepneumatic agitation system 116. As shown in the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 6, apertures 120 and corresponding air nozzles 118 are disposed inthe front surface 146, rear surface 148 and opposed side surfaces150,152 of the compartments 64, 66, 68 and 70. In addition, theapertures 120 and corresponding air nozzles 118 can be positioned ondifferent levels 200, 202 (FIG. 8) on each surface 146,148,150,152 ofthe compartments 64-70. In this manner, the air flows entering thecompartments 64-70 via the air nozzles 118 disposed in the apertures 120can be directed at all areas of the interior of the compartments 64-70,thus ensuring that the particulate materials held therein can beeffectively agitated regardless of the position of the particulatematerial within the compartments 64-70. Further, in this exemplaryembodiment, the air nozzles 118 disposed at a top level on thecompartments 64-70 can be operated to agitate the particulate materialwithin the compartments 64-70 to avoid the formation of uneven levels ofthe particulate material at the tops of the piles (not shown) of thematerials disposed within the compartments 64-70, particularly duringsectional control of the system 100. Additionally, the operation of theair nozzles 118 to agitate the particulate materials within thecompartments 64-70 can delay the time at which a compartment(s) 64-70will starve of the particulate material contained therein.

In addition to the placement of the air nozzles 118 at various locationsand levels on the compartments 64-70, the operation of the air nozzles118 can be varied in order to direct air flow at the particulatematerial within the compartments 64-70 from different directions byoperating different air nozzles 118 at different times. Further, the airnozzles 118, either in conjunction with or separately from the selectiveoperation of the various air nozzles 118 can be operated to pulse theair flow from the same or different air nozzles 118 into thecompartments 64-70 thus providing enhanced agitation capabilities to thepneumatic agitating system 116. Also, either with the operation ofdifferent air nozzles 118 and/or pulsing of the air flow from the airnozzles 118, the pressure of the air flow directed into the compartments64-70 can be done at a constant pressure or varied to increase ordecrease the pressure from one or more air nozzles 118 depending uponthe agitation requirements for the pneumatic agitation system 116. Inone exemplary embodiment, the burst of air into the compartments 64, 66,68 and/or 70 can have a duration of between 0.25 seconds and 2.0seconds, or 0.50 seconds, with a pressure of approximately 100 psi, withintervening periods of no air flow of 0.1 seconds to 0.5 seconds whenthe system 116 is in an agitation mode. The short burst of air avoid anexcessive increase in the air pressure into and/or within thecompartments 64-70, which can already be pressurized. This is due to theability of the small pressurized air quantity contained within the airbursts to leaks out of the compartments 64-70 through the meteringdevices 112. In addition, the pneumatic agitation system 116 can beemployed with or without any other agitation mechanisms, such as amechanical agitation system (not shown).

Referring now to FIG. 9, in one exemplary method of operation of thepneumatic agitation system 116, in decision block 154 initially thecontroller 140 determines if any product agitation is required. Thisdetermination can be made in one embodiment using one or more ultrasonicsensors 156 (FIG. 5) disposed within the compartments and connected tothe controller 140. The sensors 156 operate to indicate the level of theparticulate material within the compartments 64-70 and transmit thisinformation to the controller 140. Alternatively, or in conjunction withthe sensors 156, the activation of the system 116 can be accomplished inany suitable manner, such as by utilizing a time-based agitation timer,such as to operate the system 116 on a periodic basis, e.g. operatingthe system 116 to deliver 5 bursts every 10 seconds, to operate thesystem 116 based on manual input from the operator, among any othersuitable operational control mechanism. If in block 154 the controller140 determines that the no agitation of the particulate materials isrequired, the system 116 proceed to block 158 and turns off theagitation system 116.

Alternatively, if agitation is required, using the information from thesensors 156, the controller 140 will determine in block 159 thecompartments 64-70 that require agitation. In addition, in decisionblock 160 the controller 140 through an operable connection (not shown)to the control systems (not shown) of the applicator 10 will ascertainwhether the applicator 10 is operating under sectional control, i.e., ifone or more of the compartments 64-70 are not currently being utilizedto distribute the particulate material(s) contained therein.

If the controller 140 determines in block 162 that no sectional controlis in effect, and that all particulate materials are being metered fromall compartments 64-70, the controller 140 proceeds to decision block164 to determine, e.g., via the sensors 156, whether the level ofparticulate material in one or more of the compartments 64-70 is belowthe critical level where the particulate material is at significant riskfor bridging within the compartment 64-70. If so, the controller 140proceeds to activate all of the air nozzles 118 associated with thecompartments 64-70 having critical or below critical particulatematerial levels in block 166 to break up any already-formed bridges ofthe material and/or to prevent any bridges from forming. The controller140 then proceeds to block 168 to determine if any of the meteringdevices 112 are actively metering the materials from the compartments64-70, such as by utilizing a sensor 165 (FIG. 8) operably connected tothe metering device 112 and the controller 140.

If no metering devices 112 are determined to be active on anycompartment 64-70 in block 168, such that the applicator 10 is no longerdistributing any particulate materials, the controller 140 proceed toblock 170 and performs an automated tank clean out function where theair nozzles 118 in each compartment 64-70 are activated to move allremaining materials within the compartments 64-70 into a position wherethe materials can be removed entirely from the compartments 64-70. Thisfunction, as illustrated in an exemplary embodiment, in block 172involves the operation of the air nozzles 118 in each compartment 64-70for longer durations, with increased pressures and/or increasedfrequencies of the bursts in order to create a highly turbulentenvironment within the compartments 64-70 to dislodge and remove thematerials from the compartments 64-70. Additionally, a bypass gate (notshown) positioned on the compartments) 64-70 can be opened during thisclean out function to avoid having to operate the metering devices 112.Upon completion of the tank clean out function, the controller 140returns to block 154 to determine the next instance when operation ofthe pneumatic agitation system 116 is required to agitate particulatematerial(s) disposed within the compartments) 64-70.

However, if at least some of the metering device 112 are active, suchthat the applicator 10 is still dispensing particulate material(s), thecontroller 140 returns to block 164. In block 164, whether from block162 or from block 168, if the controller 140, via the sensors 156, doesnot find any critical particulate material levels in the compartments64-70, the controller 140 proceeds to block 174 and identifies whichcompartments 64-70 have inactive metering devices 112, as is the casewhen the applicator 10 is operated under sectional control, asdetermined in block 160. The controller 140 then moves to block 176 tooperate the air nozzles 118 associated with each of the compartments64-70 to emit short bursts of pressurized air into the compartments64-70, thereby agitating the particulate material within thecompartments 64-70. Additionally, the air nozzles 118 can be operated inany suitable or desired manner to agitate the particulate material(s),using higher or lower pressure air busts, longer or shorter bursts,and/or alternating or stagger bursts of air from different air nozzles118 for an individual compartment 64-70. However, in block 178 for anycompartments 64-70 with a non-operating metering device 112, thecontroller 140 operates the top level air nozzles 118, or all of thenozzles 118 on each level.

After operating the air nozzles 118 in blocks 176 and 178, thecontroller 140 moves back to decision block 164 in order to providecontinuous monitoring and agitation of the particulate materials withinthe compartments 64-70 until operation of all of the metering devices112 is ceased.

While the conveying system 100 including the pneumatic agitation system116 disclosed so far herein have been primarily with respect topneumatic and/or mechanical fertilizer application equipment orapplicator commonly referred to as a “floater”, it should be understoodthat the advantages from the conveying system 100 including thepneumatic agitation system 116 disclosed herein can be obtained on othertypes of equipment for applying particulate materials in a field.Planters of various types are known to include an applicator unit, suchas a drill or seeder, and may include an air cart having one or morebulk tanks carrying fertilizer and/or seeds to be planted. The conveyingsystem 100 including the pneumatic agitation system 116 disclosed hereincan be provided on the planter, and one or more air/seed inductors onthe air cart. If the air cart is then used with a planter of a differenttype, or with another type of particle application equipment,adjustments to the conveying system 100 including the pneumaticagitation system 116 can be made without the need to adjust the air/seedinductor assembly on the air cart. Accordingly, switching from one cropto another crop or from one planter to another planter does not requiremajor adjustment of the air/seed inductor assembly on the air cart.

In using a conveying system 100 as disclosed herein, a variety ofmaterials can be applied by a variety of different implements. Theparticulate material to be applied is contained in one or morecompartments. The particulate material or materials are supplied fromthe tanks to the conveying system 100 wherein the material or materialsare conveyed to one or more particle injectors while being intermixedwith one another. At the particle injector the conveyed product orproducts are provided in a metered flow and transferred to one or moreparticle delivery unit, which can be a broadcast spreader, seeder fordepositing seeds or other materials across the surface of soil, a rowopener unit for depositing seeds or other material in rows, or the like.

Various other alternatives are contemplated as being within the scope ofthe following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claimingthe subject matter regarded as the invention.

We claim:
 1. An agricultural product delivery system, comprising: atleast one particulate material supply compartment; at least one particledelivery unit for applying particulate material from the supplycompartment; a conveying system providing a flow of particulate materialfrom the at least one particulate material supply compartment to the atleast one particle delivery unit; and a pneumatic agitation systemoperably connected to the at least one compartment.
 2. The agriculturalproduct delivery system of claim 1, wherein the pneumatic agitationsystem comprises: a compressor; and a number of nozzles disposed on theat least one particulate material supply compartment and operablyconnected to the compressor.
 3. The agricultural product delivery systemof claim 2, wherein the number of nozzles are oriented horizontally withrespect to the at least one particulate material supply compartment. 4.The agricultural product delivery system of claim 2, wherein the numberof nozzles are oriented at and angle with respect to the at least oneparticulate material supply compartment.
 5. The agricultural productdelivery system of claim 2, further comprising: a number of firstnozzles disposed on the at least one particulate material supplycompartment; and a number of second nozzles disposed on the at least oneparticulate material supply compartment and spaced vertically on the atleast one particulate material supply compartment from the number offirst nozzles.
 6. The agricultural product delivery system of claim 2,further comprising a controller operably connected to the compressor andthe number of nozzles.
 7. The agricultural product delivery system ofclaim 6, wherein the number of nozzles each comprise: an inlet operablyconnected to the compressor; an outlet disposed at least partiallywithin the at least one particulate material supply compartment; a valvedisposed between the inlet and the outlet; and a connector operablyconnected to the valve and to the controller.
 8. The agriculturalproduct delivery system of claim 7, wherein the valve is a solenoidvalve.
 9. The agricultural product delivery system of claim 7, furthercomprising: a hose interconnecting the inlet with the compressor; and aninlet valve disposed on the hose to control a flow of air from thecompressor into the inlet.
 10. A pneumatic agitation system for use withan agricultural product delivery system, the pneumatic agitation systemcomprising: a compressor; a number of nozzles adapted to be engaged withat least one particulate material supply compartment of the agriculturalproduct delivery system and operably connected to the compressor; and acontroller operably connected to the compressor and the number ofnozzles.
 11. The pneumatic agitation system of claim 10, wherein each ofthe number of nozzles comprises: an inlet operably connected to thecompressor; an outlet adapted to be disposed at least partially withinthe at least one particulate material supply compartment; a valvedisposed between the inlet and the outlet; and a connector operablyconnected to the valve and to the controller.
 12. The pneumaticagitation system of claim 11 wherein the valve is a solenoid valve. 13.A method of agitating a particulate material within at least onecompartment containing the particulate material for applying theparticulate material in a field, the method comprising the steps of:providing a pneumatic agitation system operably connected to the atleast one compartment, the pneumatic agitation system including acompressor and a number of nozzles disposed on the at least onecompartment and operably connected to the compressor; and operating thepneumatic agitation system to agitate the particulate material withinthe at least one compartment.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thestep of operating the pneumatic agitation system comprises altering thepressure of an air flow directed into the at least one compartment bythe pneumatic agitation system.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein thestep of operating the pneumatic agitation system comprises altering theduration of an air flow directed into the at least one compartment bythe pneumatic agitation system.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein thepneumatic agitation system includes a number of first nozzles disposedon the at least one compartment and a number of second nozzles disposedon the at least one particulate material supply compartment and spacedvertically on the at least one particulate material supply compartmentfrom the number of first nozzles, and wherein the step of operating thepneumatic agitation system comprises selectively operating only thefirst nozzles, only the second nozzles of both the first and secondnozzles to direct an air flow into the at least one compartment.
 17. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the pneumatic agitation system includes aproduct level sensor disposed on the at least one compartment andcapable of determining the level of the particulate material within theat least one compartment and wherein the step of operating the pneumaticagitation system comprises directing an air flow directed into the atleast one compartment in response to a signal from the product levelsensor.
 18. The method of claim 13 wherein the pneumatic agitationsystem includes a metering device sensor adapted to be operablyconnected to the agricultural product delivery system and capable ofdetermining an operational status of a metering device connected to theat least one compartment and wherein the step of operating the pneumaticagitation system comprises directing an air flow directed into the atleast one compartment in response to a signal from the metering devicesensor.